Arrested for Lewd Conduct in Los Angeles… and Everyone Thinks You “Did It”

Yes, getting arrested for any crime in Southern California is scary. You face the specter of jail time, massive fees and fines, insurance related problems, professional reputation issues, logistical headaches, and on and on.

But lewd conduct charges are particularly vexing! Defendants are often “prejudged” by friends, family members, peers, and the community at large. For some reason, getting a lewd conduct charge often feels like being tarred and feathered. First of all, if you are convicted, you may be saddled with the “sex offender” label for decades, if not for a lifetime. You do not need to be reminded about what this negative label can do in terms of restricting where you can live, wreaking havoc on your personal and professional life, and potentially destroying your self-esteem – not to mention teeing you up for massive trouble if you ever break the law again.

But forget about the sex offender stigma for a second. Just contemplate how you’ve been treated thusfar by family members and friends after your arrest. Maybe you got a few words of encouragement or support. But odds are that support was few and far between. People tend to extrapolate when they hear charges like “lewd conduct in Los Angeles.” They immediately go to the worst possible places. They might remember news stories, like the recent case about that 60-year-old elementary school teacher at Miramonte who apparently sexually molested his elementary school students for years and did other horrible things to them.

Sadly, they may even categorize you in with this kind of monster — assume that you are somehow “in his class.” And this may happen even if you did nothing wrong to anybody… or perhaps even got entrapped by a police officer for trying to solicit!

So on one hand, you face this isolation, confusion, anger, and helplessness. On the other hand, you are also aware that there is something in your life that’s not working. You’d like to change, you’d like to get help, and you’d like to “turn back the clock.” But things are so out of control and so confusing that you don’t really know how to begin, where to begin, or whom you can trust for good advice about the cascade of problems that have fallen on you.

The good news is that Attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group is just a click or a phone call away. Attorney Kraut is a former city prosecutor. For 14+ years he worked as a Deputy District Attorney. He did not exactly earn reputation as a “softy’’ – in fact, he managed to achieve a 99% success rate at jury trials. Now, serving as a criminal defense attorney, he has the relationships, knowledge of the law, strategic intuition, and resources you need to build an impressive case.